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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · wound · shower · bark · drill · degree · rest · chip

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chip — for betting
  6. drill — the tool
  7. shower — rain
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. degree — temperature
  12. shower — to wash
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rest — what's left
  15. prune — to trim
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. prune — to trim
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bark — to shout
  22. rest — a break
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bark — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com